SANTA FE - Two state senators on Wednesday introduced a bill that would repeal the law enabling illegal immigrants to obtain New Mexico driver's licenses.

Sens. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, and Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, are carrying the bill on behalf of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

She campaigned in 2010 on repealing the licensing law, but so far has been unsuccessful after attempts in three legislative sessions.

Two separate repeal bills offered by Republican members of the House of Representatives were blocked last month by the Democrat-controlled House labor committee.

The proposal by Smith and Ingle, Senate Bill 521, would have to clear both houses of the Legislature in the final month of the session to become law.
Martinez's spokesman called it "a very reasonable compromise," but the leader of an immigrant group said the bill actually would reduce the rights of immigrants who are authorized to be in the United States.

The main feature of the Smith-Ingle bill would end the 2003 state law that allows illegal immigrants with proper identification documents to receive a driver's license. Their bill would end the practice of licensing illegal immigrants.

Enrique Knell, Martinez's press secretary, said the compromise element is that the bill would provide driving permits to DREAMers - those whose status from the federal government is Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Though they would be able to allowed to drive in New Mexico, DREAMers could not use the permit for identification, such as to board an airplane.

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Marcela Diaz, director of the immigrant organization Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said Martinez was not compromising but advocating something that would give DREAMers less than they have now.

"The bill creates a driving certificate for people who are lawfully present," Diaz said. "She cannot disallow documented immigrants from getting a license."

Other states, such as Arizona, have been sued on the same issue of denying driver's licenses to those with a lawful presence in the country, Diaz said.

Smith was the only Senate Democrat last year to favor Martinez's push for a repeal. The other 27 Democrats supported keeping the existing licensing law but adding penalties for fraud.

Martinez says the licensing law makes New Mexico a magnet for criminals and people who live elsewhere but want a driver's license to legitimize themselves in America.

The makeup of the Senate is now 25 Democrats and 17 Republicans. To get a repeal bill through the Senate, Martinez would need three Democrats to join Smith and all the Republicans in voting for it. That would create a 21-21 tie, opening the way for Republican Lt. Gov. John Sanchez to cast the deciding vote for the repeal.

But even then the Smith-Ingle bill would have to get through the House of Representatives, a tall task.

House Speaker Ken Martinez opposes repealing the licensing law. He said New Mexico's licensing law helps families stay together.

Speaker Martinez and fellow Democrats could probably bottle up this repeal bill in a committee, as they did with House versions of the bill.

Numerous states, including Maryland, Tennessee and Oregon, have repealed immigrant licensing laws similar to New Mexico's. But Illinois this year approved a law that resembles New Mexico's.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, said licensing illegal immigrants would make roads safer. Motorists have to pass driving tests to obtain a license. In addition, Quinn said making it easier for illegal immigrants to drive to work would improve his state's economy.

Milan Simonich, Santa Fe bureau chief of Texas-New Mexico Newspapers, can be reached at msimonich@tnmnp.com or 505-820-6898. His blog is at nmcapitolreport.com